Chapter 1 Everything Happened a Few Years Ago

"...For me, it all happened a few years ago."

After Zhou Buyi withdrew his hand, Su Zhou raised his head, examining the other man up and down for a moment before slowly saying, "That day, before the withering Shenmu (Divine Tree), the Three Sages and the masters of the Hundred Schools swore upon the Nanjing Tianguan (Heavenly Gate) that they would never use its power, but would use the power of humans to create a truly prosperous age. And I remember, you were among them."

"Indeed." Zhou Buyi nodded slowly, a look of reminiscence in his eyes. "At that time, everyone was still alive... And now, I haven't changed my mind."

He reached out, and an invisible wave of internal energy swept around. Accompanied by a series of 'clicks,' the windows and walls surrounding the office rotated with mechanical precision, revealing mirrors on their reverse sides. Soon, a series of spiritual light fluctuations flashed, and the mirrors began to reflect illusory images from all over the world.

There were huge cities, magnificent buildings. From them, one could see the massive industrial city in the Northeast, the floating maritime city moving along the spiritual veins in the South Sea. Su Zhou glanced over and saw huge aerial fortresses and flying fortresses being built along the coast of the New World.

And the former site of the Shenmu had now become a huge metropolitan area. The Third New Nantianjing was the economic and political center of the Tianzheng Alliance's eastern region. The towering skyscrapers were certainly not as good as the Shenmu, but they were magnificent enough.

"I've done it all." The man said, proudly showing Su Zhou his achievements. "I unified the Hundred Schools Alliance, which was on the verge of splitting due to the deaths of the older generation of leaders; I recuperated and started the alliance's first baby boom; I led the new generation to lay the foundation for the Tianzheng Alliance; I expanded Tianzheng's territory to five times that of the former An Dynasty—those former An Dynasty remnants who were on the verge of collapse, through our efforts, have become the most powerful nation and the most powerful civilization in this world."

"This is a great undertaking that everyone, even the original Three Sages, never imagined. Step by step, I led them to where they are now, until today. I am worthy of everyone."

At this time, Shao Qiming, who was on the side, watched the two people in front of him, who were confronting each other in terms of momentum, but still having a normal conversation.

He vaguely saw a similar look in Zhou Buyi's eyes to the one Su Zhou had before.

If the previous Su Zhou wanted to show off to his friend, whom he had once helped, how peaceful the world had become,

Then the current Zhou Buyi wanted to show off to Su Zhou, a former comrade, how he had built the world they had fought for together into such a prosperous state.

A hundred years had passed, and all the familiar people had left. Even if he had established supreme merit, there was no one to tell. After finally waiting for an old friend, even knowing that the other party cultivated a power that he shouldn't have touched, and knowing his friend's personality of hating evil as much as he did, which might cause them to turn against each other, he still couldn't help but bring him over as quickly as possible...

"Two childish guys who like to show off..."

Muttering in his heart, Shao Qiming pondered with some distress: "They're definitely going to fight later, should I go out and hide now? But the battle recordings of the Commander Realm are so precious, and Zhou Buyi happens to cultivate the wood element..."

"This is indeed very impressive."

After watching all the images in the mirrors, Su Zhou earnestly applauded and praised, "I definitely couldn't do it. For example, if the Hundred Schools Alliance were to split, with my way of thinking, I would definitely kill them, kill them until everyone didn't dare to split... But in reality, I'm not ruthless enough to kill innocent people, I'm afraid that after killing for a while, I would just let it go."

"...Don't be too modest. If you wanted to, you definitely could, but if you didn't want to, you wouldn't do it."

Zhou Buyi lowered his eyes, his tone returning to calm. "And I wouldn't. Even if I didn't want to, if it were necessary, I would do it."

"So, the power of the Shenmu is necessary?"

Although he questioned it this way, Su Zhou himself was actually very clear that the power of the Shenmu was not an evil power. On the contrary, it was righteous, even more righteous than righteous, a heavenly Dao that nourished the world and created all things.

The Demon Emperor's method, which used all living beings to nourish one person, was a way of thinking that only a tyrant could come up with, and it couldn't be considered a normal way to use the power of the Shenmu.

As long as power is used well, it will never be a bad thing. Su Zhou never intended to criticize Zhou Buyi for cultivating the power of the Shenmu.

However, in a place where the power of the Shenmu had been used to eat people, and had almost caused a near-extinction disaster, a person who had personally experienced the calamity, reactivating the power of the Shenmu... this meaning was different from someone without this experience cultivating the power of the Shenmu.

Especially just now, when Su Zhou used the Flames of Sin to try to ignite the evil karma on Zhou Buyi, he sensed that the other party did indeed have considerable sin.

Good and evil cannot be offset. The Flames of Sin will not stop burning just because the other party was once good.

But by the same logic, the power of vows will not stop protecting the other party just because they were evil.

So Su Zhou directly pointed out the most important question: "Zhou Buyi, besides you, who else in this world is in the Tiangang Wushen (Celestial Astral Martial God) Realm?"

"...Only me."

The man frowned slightly, then told the truth: "Besides me, they haven't discovered the truth about the changes in the world's vitality. They still think that the recovery of the world's vitality isn't enough, and that I'm a special case... But in reality, the world's vitality is already enough for people to cultivate to the Tiangang Realm, but because the power of the Shenmu has permeated the world, the entire planet has been imperceptibly transformed into an ecosystem subordinate to the Shenmu... Only the wood attribute and its derivatives are possible."

"Wood can transform into lightning, can transform into wind, can derive Yang Qi. Only these paths can smoothly advance to the Xiantian (Innate) stage. And if you want to advance to the Tiangang Wushen, you either have to be like me, seek the power of the Shenmu and transform your physique, or you have to try to deduce a completely pure wood-based cultivation method, which I am doing."

"Of course, before that, you are the only Tiangang Realm expert in the world—and you have mastered the power of the Shenmu, so almost all Xiantian Martial Saints in this world, or members of the Undying Cult, are just chickens and dogs in front of you, right?"

Su Zhou nodded slightly, and Zhou Buyi defaulted: "Power, even if I wanted to give it away, I couldn't. If my strength can't suppress everyone, then as soon as I step down from the position of Alliance Chairman, it will cause disputes... Not everyone wants to be Chairman. Some people want to be emperors, or to divide the land and become kings."

The Tianzheng Alliance seems peaceful, but in reality, in this world with extraordinary power, such an equal world, where ordinary people are neither humble nor arrogant towards martial artists, towards Xiantian Martial Saints, is simply not 'pleasant' at all for those martial artists who hold power.

It's easy to understand that if Zhou Buyi hadn't been suppressing it all along, such order, even if only a portion of martial artists were dissatisfied, could be said to be precarious.

"Only by standing at a high position does looking down have meaning. Only when I hold the strength to surpass everyone, and voluntarily step down from the position of Chairman, can I lead by example, maintain this system, and make it an order—and I can continue to serve as the Director of the Demon Subduing Bureau, suppressing all the turmoil in this world, so that there is no disobedience in the world, and there is eternal peace."

This was his idea, and he had been doing it this way for more than a hundred years.

Zhou Buyi didn't widely publicize his discovery. Instead, after advancing to the Tiangang Realm, he blocked, and even distorted, the research direction in the relevant areas—Su Zhou understood this approach. After all, if this world had multiple Tiangang Realm experts, with the terrifying strength of the Tiangang Realm, which is the Commander Realm, it would be easy to break away and become an independent kingdom, becoming an emperor themselves. Even Zhou Buyi, as the strongest martial artist, couldn't maintain order while suppressing other Tiangang Realm experts.

He had to delay the growth rate of individual martial power in this world in order to stabilize the order. Moreover, in order to avoid the possibility that geniuses could still advance to the Tiangang Realm in the future and have ulterior motives, Zhou Buyi even took the lead in cultivating the power of the Shenmu, ensuring that he had absolute suppressive power over all the martial artists in this world.

—What's wrong with that? Pursuing immortality is not wrong, and cultivating the power of the Shenmu for the sake of world peace is not wrong either. Even being a dictator and becoming an emperor shouldn't be a sin.

But Su Zhou was very clear that after he had become the Shenmu King of the Banyan Undying Tree, and had asked the other party not to distribute its power anymore, what kind of price would be required to still obtain the power of the Shenmu.

And the fact that Zhou Buyi had previously rejected Su Zhou's request to help him eliminate the 'Undying Cult' also indirectly proved Su Zhou's guess.

"You extracted the power of the Shenmu from those remnants of the Demon Dynasty in the Undying Cult."

Su Zhou said bluntly: "With the existence of the remnants of the Demon Dynasty and separatist elements, Tianzheng has enemies, so it won't start focusing all its attention on internal strife. And you occasionally attack both sides, reaping power and prestige from them to assist your own cultivation... This is actually cultivating bandits for self-importance. Such tolerance is no different from doing evil. Those who died because of the Undying Cult actually died at your hands."

"You could say that."

Zhou Buyi readily admitted: "I condone them in remote areas, attacking the local government forces that don't obey. When it's about time, I send official troops to garrison them. This way, I can both reap power and recover those areas with divided loyalties. As for the separatist elements, they are just a banner. With them around, the resistance forces within Tianzheng will all gravitate towards them. Attacking them from time to time can effectively reduce the crime rate in normal areas and reduce unstable factors."

"Of course, a country can always find things more important to do than completely eliminating these two organizations. I'm not deliberately condoning them, but I always make other choices."

"The Undying Cult is actually the same. With the legend of the Shenmu, there will always be people who pursue immortality. History is here, and this is something that cannot be banned... And I hold the power of the Shenmu. No matter how they explore this path, they will only end up delivering themselves into my hands... Even if in the future, those monsters grow to the point where the Demon Subduing Bureau can't suppress them, as long as I take action, I can wipe them all out."

Su Zhou earnestly observed the man in front of him who was talking eloquently. His eyes were like torches, and he could clearly see which of the other party's words were sincere and which were disguised or concealed.

Then, he sighed.

"Zhou Buyi, you're simply trying to hold the world and civilization in your palm and take care of them. You don't trust anyone and bear all the pressure on yourself... Won't you get tired of cleaning up the mess for the entire civilization all by yourself?"

Speaking of this, Su Zhou couldn't help but laugh at himself: "But the funny thing is, I actually understand you very well—because if it were me, I would definitely want to do the same thing. I might not even be able to do it as perfectly as you... Call me childish, but I really can't be like you, nurturing the Undying Cult and separatist elements as gathering places for evil. I would definitely kill them all at the first opportunity."

"That's not childish, it's just that you don't like to compromise."

Zhou Buyi said in a low voice: "You are this kind of person, you really are this kind of person. That's why we all admired you back then."

"But all those things above aren't your real reason."

But at this time, Su Zhou changed the subject. Having already used the Mind of No Thought, he could hear Zhou Buyi's innermost thoughts. Those reasons were enough to convince anyone, but they couldn't convince him: "Compared to those reasonable and justifiable words, your initial statement, 'I want to be immortal,' is actually more convincing."

—Ah, is he going to attack? Hearing this, Shao Qiming, who had already taken out an anti-shock capsule and was preparing to hide in a high-strength anti-shock airbag at any time, suddenly felt a sense of tension in his heart. He could sense that the spiritual energy between the two, which had been relatively calm, suddenly became turbulent.

But soon, this wave calmed down again. Zhou Buyi frowned slightly. Until now, he hadn't been able to figure out the depth of Su Zhou's strength. Although the other party looked like he was only in the Tiangang Realm, just like himself, he was as unfathomable as he had been in the past.

However, this was normal... That was Su Zhou, after all, the one who had killed the National Teacher and the Demon Emperor when he was only at the peak of the Houtian (Acquired) Realm. Even if he cultivated the power of the Shenmu, he might not be able to defeat him.

"There's more than one reason, of course. The peace of this world does need me to maintain it. If I don't obtain the power of the Shenmu, someone will always cultivate it. With order, there will naturally be people who resist order. I set up a target, let them gather together to make it easier to encircle and suppress them. These are all necessary things."

Not trying to defend himself, Zhou Buyi simply stated the facts. After speaking, he lowered his head and remained silent for a while, then slowly raised his head and said, "Of course, as you said, my most fundamental reason is still that I want to be immortal. Because I want to be immortal, that's why I do all the subsequent things."

"Why?"

Su Zhou asked concisely: "You're not greedy for power, and you don't seem like the kind of person who would do anything for immortality. The natural lifespan of a Tiangang Wushen is at least several hundred to a thousand years. If you want to be immortal, you have plenty of time to find better ways. In other words, I don't think you have any reason to pursue immortality within at least five hundred years."

Zhou Buyi didn't answer this question immediately. He simply asked a question first: "Su Zhou, do you still remember what the last words of our dead comrades were before they left?"

Su Zhou was slightly stunned. He wanted to directly reply that none of his comrades had died, but that was fundamentally wrong. He wasn't present when his friends in the Shenmu World died.

So he remained silent, and Zhou Buyi smiled, his expression calm: "Many people will forget. That's how it is on the battlefield."

"But I remember. I remember the last words of everyone else—whether it was my teacher, comrades, friends, wife, or my eldest son, eldest daughter, youngest daughter... I remember the messages they each said to me when they died."

"In this world now, I'm the only one who remembers—no matter why the Hundred Schools fought in the first place, why they wanted to rebuild peace, why they fought against the Demon Dynasty. Of those who were left from that era of suffering, of the cries and battles in the darkness, only I remain."

"If it were just me, just me alone, then what would death matter? It would just be reuniting with them. But I can't live just for myself. There must be someone to remember those words, to remember those beliefs... Later generations will forget, beliefs will be worn down, will be rewritten, will be corrected. Just like that allusion you told me at the beginning, yes, the dragon slayer will become a dragon. Beliefs will change. But the fact is, if I let go of everything, this world will still repeat the historical pattern of 'unity after a long period of division, division after a long period of unity'—the speed at which beliefs change will be ten times faster than the speed at which I change."

If the first person conveys a message to the second person, the meaning of the words may not change. But if it reaches the tenth person, the hundredth person, that's not certain. Even the essence of the words may be completely rewritten into something completely different from the original.

The man couldn't accept such a thing. The first person couldn't tolerate the fruits of victory, which had cost the lives of everyone around him, being tampered with by later generations who didn't cherish it as much. So he would rather not pass these words down, but instead steadfastly hold his ground.

Saying this, Zhou Buyi's tone became more and more forceful: "I absolutely cannot allow the peace that we created at the cost of almost everyone's lives to be tarnished, to be divided, to fall apart in just a few hundred years!"

"It must continue to exist, and I will protect it—protect it forever!"